LOS ANGELES — In a mass of blue and gold and red and white, Otito Ogbonnia bull-rushed straight through the pack. On first-and-10 against Fresno State two weeks ago, the 6-foot-4 freshman squared up with his offensive lineman and walked 6-foot-6, 305-pound right tackle Syrus Tuitele straight back. Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion was forced to shuffle to his left and throw the ball away.

The play gave UCLA a brief glimpse at what could turn into a formidable defensive front as Ogbonnia lined up next to fellow freshmen Atonio Mafi and Tyler Manoa, creating an all-freshman defensive line. But just as casually as he pushed Tuitele aside, Ogbonnia is brushing past the novelty of such a young unit.

“We’re here, we came here to play,” Ogbonnia said.

Plays like this make me believe that Otito Ogbonnia will be very, very good two years from now, if not next year. This was an all-freshman D-Line on the field for UCLA on this play (Ogbonnia, Mafi and Manoa) pic.twitter.com/rP9FdimT9o

Rick Wade, a redshirt junior with 26 game appearances and six straight starts, leads the UCLA defensive line in experience, but the group is defined mostly by its freshmen and the combination of their youthful mistakes and untapped potential.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience just trying to break down the game,” Manoa said. “Film after every game has been great, especially with (defensive line) coach Vince (Oghobaase). He’s really helped us just improve on a day-to-day basis.”

With the young line, the Bruins (0-3) are ninth in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, giving up 174.3 yards per game on the ground, but are tied for seventh in the conference in rushing yards allowed per carry at 3.8. They held Fresno State to 2.9 yards a carry, the lowest average for a UCLA opponent since Nov. 12, 2016.

Entering the team’s conference opener against Colorado on Friday, the three freshman defensive linemen have 15 combined tackles. Mafi, who has started two of three games this season, has the trio’s lone tackle-for-loss, a shared stop for 2 yards. Ogbonnia started the other game, at Oklahoma, at nose tackle.

While redshirt junior Chigozie Nnoruka was expected to start at nose tackle this season, the one-time junior college transfer was dressed as a scout team player during Monday’s practice.

Ogbonnia and Mafi are listed as co-starters for this week’s game at nose tackle while Ogbonnia is also Wade’s backup at defensive end. The former four-star prospect doesn’t just excel with versatility on the football field, but he said he also intends to participate in track and field this spring, throwing shot put and discus.

The trio of freshmen almost didn’t come together this season as Manoa nearly delayed his college football career to go on an LDS mission. The Bay Area native decided he needed at least one year in college to adjust to life away from home before committing to a two-year mission. He’s still unsure about when he will go on the mission, but is making the most of this season in Westwood by getting on the field early.

Wait and see

The time for UCLA’s game against Washington on Oct. 6 was pushed to six-day selection, so it will not be announced until Sunday, Sept. 30, after this weekend’s matchups. Stanford and Utah’s game time is also up for six-day selection.

The two games will be slotted into 4:30 p.m. on FOX or 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Three Pac-12 game times have already been announced for Oct. 6 with Arizona State-Colorado kicking off at 1 p.m., Washington State and Oregon State beginning at 6 p.m. and Cal-Arizona playing at 7 p.m.

Quick hits

Linebacker Je’Vari Anderson and receiver Christian Pabico were limited to individual conditioning on the sideline. Anderson warmed up with the team but did not participate in any drills on the field. … Linebacker Mique Juarez was not seen on the field during the open viewing period.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.